originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: Out6of9Balance
Creationism is the belief that God made the world and the human race.
The theory of evolution offers one description of the way that he did it.

Except the methods and data which have demonstrated evolution have so far failed to demonstrate any supernatural or divine element in the process.
Purely natural cause and effect. It would appear from the results of scientific inquiry that once again, the laziest student is taking credit for work
he didn't do.

Where is scientific inquiry standing on the creation of the universe, the creation and balance of the fundamental forces of the universe, how life
started on Earth in the first place, and how it gained the ability to evolve?

Because it appears to me that just saying 'evolution can be explained by science, there is no guiding hand' is missing the forest for the trees,
especially when that guiding hand could have set the rules for science in the first place.

originally posted by: Out6of9Balance
Creationism is the idea a creator created existence.

The term "creationism" has more implications.

Is there a distinction between “creation” and “creationism”?

Yes, there is. The word “creation,” appearing some 18 times in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, properly refers to
Jehovah’s creative activity. (See, for example, Romans 1:20; 8:21; 2 Corinthians 5:17) The term “creationism” is not found in the Bible.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1971) defines “creation” as “the act of creating,” and “creationism” as “a
doctrine or theory of creation.” The same dictionary defines “ism” as “a distinctive doctrine, cause, system, or theory​—often used
disparagingly.”

In these 1980’s, “creationism” has become a true “ism” because of its adoption by political pressure groups, such as the Moral Majority. It
is no longer a neutral term, but embodies extreme fundamentalist views of the Bible, such as the view that God created the earth and everything upon
it in six days of 24 hours each. There are now more than 350 books in circulation setting out such “creationism” dogma. Jehovah’s Witnesses
reject the unreasonable theories of “creationism” in favor of what the Bible really teaches about “creation.”

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An organized crusade is currently seen in efforts to downgrade the teaching of evolution in the public schools through laws requiring that creation be
given equal time. In the most recent legal skirmish, a federal judge decided that “creation science” as defined in an Arkansas law did not qualify
on an equal basis with evolution. This setback was disappointing to many who hold that evolution does not satisfactorily explain life’s origin. What
went wrong?

Flaws in “Scientific Creationism”

From the testimony given in the trial, it is manifest that the scientific evidence for creation was not really presented in clear confrontation with
evolution. Instead, it was lost to sight in clashes over side issues, particularly two tenets of creationism that had been written into the law:

1. That creation took place only a few thousand years ago.

2. That all geologic strata were formed by the Biblical Deluge.

Neither of these dogmas is really crucial to the central question of whether living things were created or not. They are merely doctrines held by the
members of a few churches, notably the Seventh-Day Adventists, who form the core of the group that sponsored the law. When these sectarian beliefs
were written into the law as something that must be taught in public schools, that law was foredoomed to be declared unconstitutional.

Creationist Doctrines Not Biblical

But does the legal defeat of scientific creationism, as this movement is known, reflect unfavorably on the Bible? Are the doctrines of recent creation
and a diluvial origin of geologic strata found in God’s Word?

An informed Bible student would answer, No. While the Bible clearly states that the heavens and the earth and everything in them were created by God,
it does not say when those things were created. Most of the defense witnesses were shackled by the religious dogma that the six creative days
in Genesis were all encompassed in a period of 144 hours. This harks back to an erroneous fundamentalist teaching that was not challenged by the
science of the 17th century, but that is no longer tenable in the light of present knowledge. The Bible itself does not set any such time limit on the
days of creation.

The first verse of Genesis 1:1 simply says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If we take this to mean the creation of the
starry heavens, the galaxies, and the solar system of which the earth is a part, we are talking about events that preceded the first creative day. The
description of the earth’s condition in Ge 1 verse 2 also precedes the first day. Not until Ge 1 verses 3 to 5 do we enter upon the activity of the
first day of creation.

So no matter how long the days might prove to be, Ge 1 verses 1 and 2 describe things already accomplished, and they fall outside any time frame
encompassing the creative days. If geologists want to say that the earth is 4 billion years old, or astronomers want to make the universe 20 billion
years old, the Bible student has no quarrel with them. The Bible simply does not indicate the time of those events.
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